


the wasted years, the wasted youth

by dragon_lovely



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 22:23:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17948246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragon_lovely/pseuds/dragon_lovely
Summary: cheryl tells toni the real reason why she did what she did, and our girls have a heart to heart.fix-it for 3x13





	the wasted years, the wasted youth

**Author's Note:**

> yeet guess who wrote a fix it for that fight with no conclusion? if you guessed me, you’d be correct! **gives awkward finger guns**
> 
> anyways, i’m gonna try and stay with the script but it’s not gonna be completely compliant because, like, drama. 
> 
> hope you enjoy (:
> 
> title: teen idle by marina and the diamonds
> 
> ps spoilers for 3x13, obvi, and mild swearing
> 
> *update* i've been feeling a little guilty about this, and i also got some comments pointing it out, but in this fic i kinda villainize toni and victimize cheryl, so i added in a paragraph to add more depth in. that was truly not my intention and these girls have me in such a chokehold that i felt the need to change my story a little, because if riverdale isn't going to write them right, i guess i have to at least try. hope this helps (:

“i said i was going to handle it” toni snapped, eyes glinting with anger. cheryl stayed in her seat, stomach churning with a mixture of anger and guilt, and something else that she didn’t particularly care to dissect.

“the purpose of our gang,” toni continued, “is not to air out your petty grievances or to pursue your personal vendettas. it’s for protection and community.”

“i was sending a message, planting a flag,” cheryl responded, half talking to toni, half trying to convince herself.

“oh, cut the crap, cheryl”, toni interrupted, and cheryl’s eyes flashed at the hint of condescension in her girlfriend’s tone. she rose up and faced toni.

“i’m not cutting anything, babe. you know that they deserved that, after the way they’ve been treating us and the girls. like mindless bimbos, too absorbed in when the next vogue issue comes out,” cheryl waved her hands in the air to emphasize her point as she stepped closer, “to know about anything they deem important,”.

“but still, cheryl, you shouldn’t have-”

“why not?’ cheryl challenged, and toni blinked in surprise. she paused for a moment, and cheryl felt the smallest smile begin to take over her face, because thank god her girlfriend finally saw sense. however, instead of an apology and makeup sex, which was what cheryl had been expecting, toni sighed and sat onto the couch. 

she felt all the anger drain out of her, and delicately sat down next to toni, toeing the blanket. they sat like this for what seemed like hours, until cheryl was shocked out of her reverie by toni’s broken whisper.

“what are we doing, cher?” cheryl blinked, thinking about the question before slowly opening her lips to respond. however, toni continued, seemingly encouraged by her girlfriend’s doe eyes that followed her every move, so different from the angry eyes that had been glaring at her only minutes ago.

“i mean, this isn’t us! we’re cheryl and toni, we don’t fight over stupid shit like this. like, fuck, either something is really wrong or we’re just not telling each other things, and i don’t want to be that couple,”. at this, toni got up again and began to pace before looking at cheryl beseechingly. “i mean, there has to be something deeper than this stupid fight that’s going on,”. she looked at cheryl, and the redhead took a deep breath before closing her eyes. she felt a single tear slide down her cheek as she asked, quietly, 

“do….do you like jughead more than you like me?” she heard toni swear softly, and she started crying more. she knew it, she knew it, she knew it, why would toni ever like her? she was a monster, and awful human being, she had two of her friend’s beat up for god’s sake why would toni ever like her-

she was frightened out of this whirlwind by a gentle hand on her shoulder, and her eyes flew open to see toni crouching in front of her with tears running down her face. as soon as she saw she had cheryl’s attention she began to speak.

“no, cher, of course i don’t like jughead. i….what makes you think that i like jughead, baby?”. cheryl sniffed, feeling a flood of relief before she began her shaky explanation.

“well, it’s just, when you came back from the….meeting with jughead, you seemed off, and unhappy, and i, well, i guess i thought it might have been me. i mean, like you don’t like me anymore, or you never liked me at all,” once cheryl began to speak, she couldn’t stop, had to get it all out before it ruined her only love for the rest of her life, “and then you were making plans, and you didn’t want me there, and i assumed that it was because you still liked jughead. so, i guess, the real reason why i did….all of that was because i was, um, scared that you didn’t like me anymore and i was hoping that if i did this you would, uh, like me again,”.

she said the last part in a rush, and when she finished she felt empty, but also as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. she was looking everywhere but toni, desperate to take these last few moments of still having a girlfriend before all of that was ruined. 

what she didn’t expect was for toni to, oh so gently, take chin in between her fingers and turn her head so she had no choice to look directly at her, a heartbreaking sadness on her girlfriend’s face. 

“cher, i am so, so sorry. i’m sorry that you thought i liked jughead, i’m sorry for taking out my frustrations on you, i’m sorry for shutting you out of the planning, and i’m the most sorry for being too wrapped up in myself to notice any of that! i’ve been an awful girlfriend,” toni held up a finger to her girlfriend’s lips as she opened her mouth to protest because, for fuck’s sake, toni topaz was the most supportive girlfriend in possibly the universe, “and i am so, so sorry for that. a long time ago, babe, i promised you that i would always be by your side, and the past couple of days, i haven’t been doing that.” toni paused and took her hands, looking deeply into her eyes before continuing, but cheryl interrupted her. 

"t.t., why are you apologizing? it's me that should be doing that, i mean, you said you would handle it but i just got so, i don't know, angry with jughead, and i felt that need to lash out", cheryl felt the seed of guilt in her stomach rear it's head, but she pushed it down. she would go over to the sweet pea and fangs' trailers tomorrow with some muffins and a very genuine apology. "so, toni, i am also extremely sorry for being just as self-centered and provocative instead of just talking to you, like we should have in the first place,". toni smiled weakly before leaning her head against cheryl's. everything was quiet for a few moments before toni whispered haltingly,

“cher, i want you to promise me that if you ever feel like i’m distracted or interested in someone else, you tell me, because you don’t deserve that sort of treatment after everything you’ve gone through. and i want you to know that i would never, ever even think of cheating on you because you are the most important thing in my life, okay? don’t ever forget that”. toni let out a shaky breath before forward to drop a kiss towards her brow.

“i love you,” cheryl whispered, and she felt more than saw toni smile before she whispered,

“i love you, too,”.

and, as the two girls sat, there entwined in each other as the stars rose in the sky, cheryl knew only one thing. she knew that it didn’t matter what was going to happen, because they were cheryl and toni, toni and cheryl, and they were going to be okay.


End file.
